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‘It’s about time’ – Ryan Reynolds champions Canadian fintechs as newest Nuvei investor

Canadian fintech firm Nuvei has received a significant financial boost with the addition of Ryan Reynolds to its investor ranks.

The Vancouver-born actor, star of the Deadpool duology, is globally recognized as a serial entrepreneur with a track record of investment into high-growth companies.

Nuvei appears to fit into that strategy, perhaps evidenced by its $1.3bn acquisition of US payment and commerce solutions company Paya Holdings in February.

Commenting on Reynolds’ recent investment into Nuvei, Chair and CEO Phil Fayer said: “We’re thrilled to welcome Ryan to the Nuvei family.

“We’re a global company but extremely proud of our Canadian roots and values, so to have one of the most internationally recognizable Canadians, as well as an entrepreneur with such renowned business acumen, join our investors is a privilege.”

Nuvei currently has card acquiring services in more than 200 markets, including direct local acquiring in over 47 countries, as well as access to more than 600 alternative payment methods.

Expansion has also been on the agenda of late, with Nuvei making ‘significant strides’ to grow its market share in both LATAM and APAC, including recently launching local acquiring capabilities in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Australia.

Reynolds, meanwhile, is currently making waves in the world of soccer with Wrexham Football Club, which he owns alongside ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’ star Rob McElhenney.

Mint Mobile, the budget wireless provider partly-owned by Reynolds, was also acquired by T-Mobile US for $1.82bn last month as the actor continues his high-profile business dealings.

Reynolds said: “I know about as much about fintech as I did about gin or mobile a few years ago. But Nuvei is impressive.

“The leadership team is exceedingly intelligent and hard-working and it’s about time a Canadian company got the type of attention American tech companies do.”

Low6 named official F2P gaming provider of NHL after BET99 game collab

The NHL has appointed Low6 as its official free-to-play gaming provider, leveraging the success of the BET99-partnered NHL PrePlay game launched last December.

NHL PrePlay was the first F2P game released between the league and Low6 and came as a result of a partnership between the gaming platform and BET99 two months prior.

The agreement saw Low6 enter the Canadian market for the first time by offering up its gamification technology to the Canadian online sportsbook and casino.

Subsequently, Low6 developed the NHL PrePlay app which was presented by BET99 at the end of last year.

Jared Beber, CEO of BET99, commented: “Designed to support our focus on education within the gaming space, the game offers opportunities for players to explore the space and become more knowledgeable without making real-money wagers.

“Not only is the NHLPrePlay program innovative and a great access point for new and potential bettors, but the educational aspect also fits well with our focus on responsible gaming.”

The game offers hockey fans in Canada the opportunity to make predictions every day of the NHL season for a chance to win gift cards, free tickets, monthly trips to NHL events with accommodation and travel. and a grand prize of $100,000.

Low6 followed the launch of NHL PrePlay with further game releases including NHL Stats Streak, NHL Pepsi Goalie Challenge, and the recently launched NHL Bracket Challenge.

The NHL has now made a ‘key strategic investment’ into Low6 which ‘aligns their shared values to drive fan engagement and digital innovation’.

Jamie Mitchell, Low6 CEO and Co-Founder, added: “We are thrilled that Low6 has been selected as the free-to-play games provider for the NHL. Over the next two years, we will be providing highly innovative games, actionable data and a whole heap of fun for users.

“We look forward to working with the NHL and their commercial partners in activating revenue throughout our gamification suite.”

Gateway casinos in Ontario to remain closed for ‘coming days’ after cyber attack

Gateway Casinos & Entertainment has confirmed its casino sites across Ontario will remain shut in the ‘coming days’ as it deals with a ‘cyber security incident’.

The Canadian gaming and entertainment operator has 28 casinos in the country split across three provinces – Ontario, Alberta, and British Columbia – with Ontario having the most (14) and the most recently-launched one, Playtime Casino Wasaga Beach, which opened its doors last November.

But all 14 of these Gateway Ontario sites, including Playtime Casino Wasaga Beach, have been closed since 1PM on Sunday, with Gateway citing a ‘system-wide malfunction’ and vowing to resolve the issue.

The problem has persisted, meaning the casino sites have been closed for two days now.

Issuing an update on Monday evening, Gateway shared via its Facebook page: “Gateway Casinos and Entertainment locations in Ontario will remain closed in the coming days as we work to restore our IT systems.

“Over the weekend, we detected a cyber security incident and closed our operations in Ontario. We have retained third-party cyber professionals who are working 24/7 to help us restore the IT environment. Our utmost concern is the protection of personal data and information.

“At this point, we do not have any information indicating that this incident involves any compromise of personal data. However, we are in the process of notifying the relevant privacy officials and gaming regulator of the incident.

“We appreciate the continued patience of our employees, customers and government partners as we work to reopen our properties in Ontario, and will continue to provide further updates to the public regarding our reopening.”

The problem of cyber attacks appears to be plaguing the province of Ontario in recent months, with a number of hospitals reporting hits to their systems including Cornwall Community Hospital, which has caused delays to its scheduled and non-urgent care.

Meanwhile, the website of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was also targeted earlier this month with ‘pro-Russian hacktivists’ reputedly behind the cyber attack.

STX is ready to revolutionize the industry with Ontario’s first sports betting exchange

The ability to be distinguishable in a highly saturated market is a trait all organizations are looking for. The reality, though, is that the idea is easier than the implementation. But STX – gearing up to launch Ontario’s first licensed sports betting exchange – is on a mission to innovate with its revolutionary tech stack set to take the Canadian province by storm. With AGCO licensing and approval, the launch of the STX product is imminent.

April 4 marked the one year anniversary of the regulated Ontario igaming and sports betting market, and in that time, the province has welcomed a whole host of operators providing their sportsbook offering.

The shift from a grey market to a regulated one has brought with it a great deal of opportunity for sportsbooks to tap into and grow their customer base.

But opportunity also breeds competition, leading some observers to conclude that supply is now higher than the demand.

That’s where STX comes in.

Unlike traditional sportsbooks which offer one-sided pricing, STX is ready to shake up the Ontario market with a differentiated approach where users determine odds by placing an order on its app, and trades completed only once the buyer and seller have agreed on a settled price.

STX, meanwhile, acts as the fiduciary, making sure participants are operating in a fair manner.

Championing STX’s emergence in Ontario – the company’s first jurisdiction – is its modern tech stack. Built from the ground up, it provides bettors, from professionals to recreational, the ability to bet responsibly utilizing its rich API and industry-leading risk mitigation tools and transparency.

“While the rest of the industry has been battling in a land grab, we have been in the shadows focused on perfecting our platform. We are beyond excited to showcase our hard work for the enthusiastic sports betting community in Ontario,” said STX founder Justin Deutsch.

The house-built platform enables back office automation and customization for all reporting and operating requirements with concurrency, reliability, scalability and immutability installed as the key components of its engineering, facilitating the most robust and stable platform in the industry.

With markets open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, STX users can place orders throughout a game or a season and make informed decisions on developments as the market fluctuates.

Although the launch focus will be on the exchange, the STX backend platform is built to facilitate traditional online sportsbook and casino as well, gearing it up to be the first all-in-one online gaming platform in the regulated North American market. 

“The focus at STX is not only on bringing a new demographic of day trader into the world of sports betting, but also providing a better experience for every potential customer from recreational to professional,” Deutsch explained. “Our team takes immense pride in creating unique and engaging customer experiences with white glove customer service. Retention will be key to our success. Loyalty is scarce in this industry and we believe that is a function of lack of product innovation and swift response to customer needs, both things we will provide at the highest level.”

STX has already secured a comprehensive partnership with US Integrity that will see the sports betting integrity monitoring company provide its services via its proprietary dashboard, while the company was also recognized as a finalist in the 2022 SBC First Pitch competition at SBC Summit North America.

The message is clear; STX is ready to transform the market and act as an industry trailblazer, merging sports betting with traditional financial markets infrastructure.

The STX app can be downloaded by visiting www.stxapp.io.

OneComply opens up management services to land-based casinos

OneComply has confirmed it is pursuing land-based casinos as the next market for its compliance management and licensing solution.

The Vancouver-based company has already made significant inroads in the online sports betting and igaming sectors, and is now looking to assist casinos by improving their operational compliance automation and accountability with its purpose-built SaaS platform.

OneComply has already deployed its software in several casino properties across Nevada, California and Washington State.

“Virtually every employee or process in a casino has a compliance or licensing component that needs to be managed, tracked and continuously monitored,” said Cameron Conn, Co-Founder and CEO of OneComply.

“OneComply provides casinos with a solution specifically designed for the gaming industry that gives them real oversight and accountability for all their operational compliance.

“Casino compliance is detailed, in-depth, and time-sensitive and OneComply is the first-of-its-kind solution for driving continuous engagement throughout operational departments.”

OneComply offers several technological solutions for the land-based sector, including real-time compliance dashboards, automated compliance workflows and tasks, integrated third-party compliance tools, active calendar monitoring, efficient contact managing, and accurate report creating.

Todd Abbott, Senior Vice President of Regulatory Compliance of Warner Gaming, added: “Until OneComply, there has been a lack of advanced technology to support a casino’s operational compliance and this is especially true for companies like ours that manages and provides oversight to several properties in our portfolio.

“OneComply provides a unique platform that pulls together all our compliance and licensing data into one place, automates the tasks and workflows and provides a 360° view of everything that can impact our regulatory standing.”

Wazdan brings ‘innovative’ slot offering to Ontario via ‘momentous’ Caesars deal

Wazdan has strengthened its presence in the Ontario market after forming a new agreement with Caesars Sportsbook & Casino.

The games developer received approval from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) last May to supply its games to operators in the Canadian province, and subsequently went live via online casino operator SkillOnNet.

But Wazdan has now secured a deal in Ontario to launch its ‘innovative’ slots portfolio, including ‘9 Coins’, ‘Magic Spins’, ‘Power of Gods’, and ‘Bison’, with the help of Caesars.

Bekki D’Agata, Commercial Director at Wazdan, commented: “Our latest partnership is a momentous deal for Wazdan’s North American trajectory, with Caesars Sportsbook & Casino being one of the most celebrated operators in the gaming industry.

“We are thrilled to bring our innovative slot offering to the Ontario market as we continue to deliver impressive results for operators worldwide.”

Self-described as a ‘milestone’ in the North American market for Wazdan, the agreement with Caesars pushes the games developer further along the road with its ambitious commercial objectives.

Meanwhile, the deal benefits Caesars customers in Ontario who can access all the mechanics of Wazdan’s Player Engagement Suite, including ‘Cash Infinity’, ‘Collect to Infinity’, ‘Hold the Jackpot’, and ‘Sticky to Infinity’.

Matthew Sunderland, Senior Vice President of igaming at Caesars Digital, added: “At Caesars Sportsbook & Casino, we pride ourselves on partnering with suppliers that can add value to our current offering.

“Wazdan, which has quickly generated momentum in the North American market, perfectly matches this criteria and we’re excited to deliver its captivating slot games to our valued customers.”

TonyBet joins Canadian Premier League as official online casino & sports betting partner

The Canadian Premier League (CPL) has confirmed a multi-year sponsorship deal to make TonyBet its official sports betting and online casino partner.

Under the terms of the agreement, TonyBet will become the present partner of the CPL’s Match of the Week broadcast on OneSoccer, the league’s exclusive broadcast rightsholder.

The online gambling firm – a subsidiary of Betsson – has been live in Canada for some time and was issued with a licence to operate in the province of Ontario by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) last December.

Commenting on TonyBet’s deal with the CPL, Country Manager Alex Haig said: “We are delighted to get behind the CPL and to take our brand to a growing and passionate fan base.

“With the CPL being one of the fastest growing leagues in Canada, TonyBet is excited to build and enhance the fan experience.”

Meanwhile, TonyBet will also serve as the presenting partner of the league’s predictor contest on the CPL website and its Centre Circle app.

The interactive digital gaming experience allows fans to predict the action for every club’s match over the course of the season, which starts tomorrow, Apr. 15, as Atletico Ottawa host HFX Wanderers at TD Place Stadium.

Mark Noonan, Commissioner of the CPL and Chief Executive of Canadian Soccer Business, added: “We are excited to add TonyBet to our growing roster of CPL sponsors.

“We look forward to working with them on experiences that engage our fans and enhance what it means to be a supporter of the CPL and Canadian soccer in general.”

AGCO advocates ban on sports stars across online gambling ads

The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) has proposed a ban on the use of athletes as part of a significant reform of online gambling advertising standards.

Under the suggested new rules, operators and suppliers in the Canadian province would be required to cease any activities that use athletes – active or retired – in gaming marketing and advertising.

This ban would be extended to the use of celebrities or entertainers, including cartoon figures and social media influencers, who are ‘reasonably expected’ to appeal to minors.

Currently, the directive is that only those who ‘primarily appeal’ to minors should be prohibited, so this would raise the standard and aid the AGCO’s goal of further minimizing potential harm to youth and children.

The AGCO is now ‘engaging with a broad range of stakeholders’ to hear their perspectives and are accepting comments until May. 8.

In order to provide affected operators and suppliers with sufficient time to comply with the proposed new and amended standard, the AGCO is proposing to have it take effect three months following the publication of the final standard on its website.

Elys Game Technology eyes Q3 entry into Canada

Elys Game Technology has earmarked the third quarter of this year for the launch of its online sportsbook platform in Canada.

The B2B gaming and sports betting technology firm also expects the platform to go live in several US markets in Q3 after making ‘significant progress’ on strategy and preparations for its North American online channel.

Mobile apps are expected in both iOS and Android versions on a ‘state-of-the-art’ GLI-33 certified platform with a broad range of customization tools and ‘rigorous’ cybersecurity features.

Michele Ciavarella, Executive Chairman of Elys Game Technology, explained: “Since the repeal of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act in 2018 we have seen the US market begin to take shape with many years of growth and development potentially ahead.

“The liberalization of the US market has also led to greater market opportunities with legislative changes in Canada as well. Elys has taken this early-stage opportunity to analyze market behavior and to better understand what North American sports bettors want, rather than race to gain market share in uncharted spaces.

“We have always believed that this patient, methodical approach, and years of data analysis would result in Elys offering a highly intuitive sportsbook and igaming product line-up.”

Elys currently has B2B operations in the District of Columbia and five states in the US with the aim of becoming a ‘global leader’ in the gaming industry through the ‘development of pioneering and innovative technology’.

Reporting its results for the 2022 fiscal year earlier this month, Ely revealed a net decrease in reported turnover of $95.88m from $1.12bn to $1.02bn.

Meanwhile, amid investment in US expansion through technology and licensing strategies, Ely’s ‘go-to-market strategy’ for its first full year of US facing operations ‘reflected remarkable service-based revenue growth’ of 150.2%, or $2.14m to $3.48m.

Ciavarella added: “Our previously announced partnerships in both online and retail deployments in North America have been instrumental in developing our new mobile product so that Elys could offer the largest range of events combined with the most competitive odds and player tools available in the US to rival top competitors currently in the North American space.

“We expect to provide additional information over the coming months as Elys moves forward with state-by-state and tribal openings throughout the year.”

Spribe cites ‘huge’ operator opportunity in Ontario after launching Aviator game

Online casino game developer Spribe has now gone live in the Ontario market with Aviator, the ‘world’s number one crash game’.

The interactive and multiplayer game was first introduced to the world in 2018 and has since gained more than five million monthly active players, recently entering countries such as the Netherlands and Italy via agreements with Casino777.nl and SKS365 respectively.

Now, Aviator has flown the airways to Ontario after Spribe was granted a licence from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO).

David Natroshvili, Managing Partner at Spribe, commented: “Aviator is the OG crash game and that’s why it has amassed more than five million monthly active players. For the operators that stock it in their lobbies, it is often a significant driver of GGR and those in Ontario can now unlock the huge opportunities it provides.

“Securing a licence in Ontario is a big moment for us as we believe it will be a big market for Aviator and the other games in our portfolio. We now look forward to teaming up with operators in the market and watching as Aviator continues to fly higher than any other game out there.”

The game itself sees players place bets before the game round begins with a plane taking off and climbing higher into the sky. As it does, a win multiplier also increases, and the longer players can hold, the bigger the win potential.

But if the plane flies away before they cash out, they lose their accrued winnings and their stake.

Alongside the ‘simple, fast-paced gameplay’, players can see their scores on a real-time leaderboard with bonuses ready to be unblocked and claimed, including a Rain Promo feature that sees free games ‘rain down’ in the chat.

Aviator can be played on any device from anywhere, making it particularly ideal for mobile play.

This, according to Spribe, has made it a powerful acquisition tool for operators looking to engage the ‘lucrative millennial and post millennial demographics’ while also giving existing players an ‘entirely new’ online casino experience.